1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf accessories for golf bags and clubs, and more particularly, to a club-separating insert system for golf bags
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many golfers have large sums of money invested in their golf clubs and endeavor to keep them well protected while in play as well as in storage and for travel. Club head covers and elongated plastic tubes are available to protect golf clubs when placed in a golf bag and provide a limited amount of protection. Various systems of dividers and club holders have been proposed to segregate golf clubs or the protective tubes for the shafts of the golf clubs in the bag. These systems typically provide spaces for clubs laid out in simple geometric arrangements with equal spacings regardless of the sizes or patterns of movement of the club heads, and therefore make inefficient use of the lateral space in a golf bag within which clubs may be arranged for optimum protection and convenience of use.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,983 discloses a club holder for golf bags comprising a single flat plate having a plurality of apertures which are arranged in rows or arcs along the periphery of the plate, the apertures being equally spaced in each row or arc. The plate illustrated is circular to match the cross-section of the golf bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,781,072 discloses a club rack insert for golf bags comprising a pair of complementary plates formed with corresponding arrangements of club supporting apertures and a series of parallel rods extending between the plates to provide a light but rigid assembly to support the golf clubs and provide rigidity to the golf bag. The plates disclosed are roughly trapezoidal in shape to match the cross-section of the golf bag illustrated, and the apertures are arranged in several rows, being equally spaced in each row.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,131 discloses a device for carrying and transporting golf clubs in a golf bag which includes an upper plate having a plurality of apertures for the golf clubs and receiving surfaces against which the golf club irons can be secured, a smaller lower plate installed at the bottom of the golf bag to receive the ends of the shafts, and a series of tubes connecting the apertures of the upper and lower plates through which the handles and shafts of the golf clubs are passed. The upper plate is roughly trapezoidal in shape, conforming to the contours of the golf bag, and the apertures and receiving surfaces for the irons are arranged in two rows, with the apertures equally spaced therein. Apertures for the woods are in a separate row, being equally spaced therein, and preferably spaced far enough apart to avoid contact of the wood heads with each other, according to the patent.
Although many systems have been proposed over the years for separating and arranging golf clubs to provide protection from inter-club contact while the bag is in use on the golf course and to arrange the clubs suitably for convenience of play, the search continues for a system which will provide a convenient arrangement for play while optimizing the protection available to the clubs within the space constraints of the typical golf bag. For instance, with most systems disclosed or available currently, the wood clubs are spaced so closely together that the heads can contact each other during normal transport of the bag about the golf course, and therefore club head covers must be kept on the woods when they are not actually in play to prevent marring.
Since existing systems for separating golf clubs within golf bags seem to be "all purpose" systems for accommodating golf clubs in any desired pattern, the apertures for the clubs are generally evenly spaced within groups intended for various clubs, and use the lateral space available in a golf bag ineffectively.